Warning : Check your CAI Intake Clamps

[scatt nasty]

just a heads up, I helped a buddy of mine install his APS cai on his speed3 and everything was fine for about a week. One day he was gettin ready to drive to work and his car wouldnt start. Starter was turning but no start. Hmm w/e so he tows it to the dealer and they fix it. Next day same thing happens.. blah blah long story short, 350$ later it turns out the bolt on the clamp attaching the cai was touching that harness full of wires and melting through them. I checked mine, and it had already started melting through the plastic protecting them. Dealer gave him no s*** for cai, but charged him for new wires and to reinstall his stock airbox.

 

[Betelgeuse]

This is for the CP-E cai right?

 

[dkswim]

what brand CAI

 

[scatt nasty]

his was aps, mine is cpe cai.. i dont think it matters. they all have a clamp attaching them to the inlet tube.. just make sure your clamp isnt right next to that group of wires because it gets hot and will melt through them

 

[AutoXRacer]

My MSCAI also touched the wire harness when I was installing it, you have to rotate the tube to make clearence... It should have a 1/4 inch clearance...

 

[tubebrner]

The exact same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago from my MS CAI hose clamp. $306 to repair the wiring harness. I got in my car and started it one morning and I went to pull out onto a main road and stepped on it and it basically went nowhere. Almost no power at all. Whatever wire got severed essentially made me running on 3 cylinders. NOT fun. A word of advice to anyone installing a CAI be careful with the hose clamps make sure it is as far from the wiring harness as possible!! I didn't think mine would be an issue but the vibrations over time can cause a problem.

 

[whitey4311]

Thanks guys I just checked mine and it was fine and the hose clamps were not touching but I moved them for even extra space. I also tightened all the hose clamps to be sure its still all good and it was.

 

[Zeya]

Perhaps it would be beneficial to (after disconnecting the negative battery terminal) wrap some electrical tape around some of the wire harnesses.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Mine's fine but I turned the clamp a little to avoid that when I installed my sri. So far it hasn't rubbed at all. Good heads up BTW.


+1 on Zeya's idea - just wrap some tape around it if it's too close. Also, some heat resistant foam/sponge tiewrapped around the wire bundle should work well too.

 

[dkswim]

i looked at mine and i have a good half inch at the clossest whils applying moderate pressure.

 

[AutoXRacer]

If you guys have the MSCAI, it should not be contacting the harness...
During install, you need to rotate the tube so that it is clocked to provide the max clearance from the harness...

 

[whitey4311]

If you guys have the MSCAI, it should not be contacting the harness...
During install, you need to rotate the tube so that it is clocked to provide the max clearance from the harness...

This is true and mine wasn't touching but I rotated the clamp a bit more just for extra safeness, lol. Its amazing when you dont think about these little things when considering after market items as being just as good. I never would have thought about this but it seems Mazda had when they made the CAI and other companies didnt. Of course common sense helps but this is one of those weird little things that can easily go over looked.